GMB plans protests at Next stores over pay and conditions

A union is planning to hold protests outside fashion giant Next's stores calling for better pay and conditions for staff.

Officials at the GMB union claim many workers at the Enderby-based retail chain have been left worse off after having their hours cut.

The union said it will hold protests at nine stores across the country over the next four weeks. None of the shops are in Leicestershire.

However, it is planning a demonstration outside the firm's annual general meeting at the Leicester Marriott hotel in Grove Park, Enderby, on Thursday.

Mick Rix, GMB national officer for retail staff, claimed many shop workers were on 12.5-hour-a-week contracts, and were then working overtime when bosses required them to.

He claimed such contracts meant staff were losing out on sick pay and annual holidays.

"A company like this, which is making huge profits should be providing contracts which reflect the hours people are working and also pay the living wage," he said.

Next says although some store workers' hours were cut during the recession, they were now being offered the chance to work more.

In April, Next chief executive Lord Simon Wolfson announced he would give away his bonus of almost £4 million to his 20,000 staff. It came after the business saw pre-tax profits last year rise by 11.8 per cent, to a record £695 million.

The company has also said sales assistants and stock room assistants would get a 37p hourly pay rise from June 1. Next says it pays £6.33 an hour to those aged 21 and above.

However, the GMB wants the company to pay the so-called living wage of £7.65 per hour – £8.80 per hour for those in London.

A Next spokesman said: "Back in the depths of the recession, we weren't selling enough and the only way round that was to make lots of people redundant or reduce the hours of workers. Like a lot of other employers, we chose to do the latter.

"In retail, particularly fashion retail, a lot of staff are looking to earn some money around university and sixth form courses so can only do certain hours.

"There's a high turnover of staff because people go travelling or have a gap year. What's now happening is these hours are then offered to people working in the business, so their hours go up.

"Next don't do anything to save on national insurance. They are a top-notch company. Where else would the chief executive give up their bonus and give it to their staff?

"For every vacancy at Next there are 30 applicants. No-one is forcing people to work at Next."